The Man From the Past
by gryffindorhobbit
Summary: a girl remembers her past w sirius and the marauders after sirius dies (beginning is pg. goes up to pg13)
1. A Letter of Silence

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, or the marauders, or jk rowling or any of her works. She is an amazing author tho. Warner brothers, rowling, scholastic and etc all own harry potter. Not me. Unfortunately.  
  
The Man From the Past  
  
She untied the letter from the owl's foot and opened it. It read:  
  
"Dear Sophie Baker, You remember Sirius, am I correct? You two were friends back in school? Anyways, to get to the point, Sirius was murdered a few hours ago. By... Lord Voldemort. Forgive me for the short letter. I am terribly sorry. But I just thought that you ought to know. I will write more about it later.  
My deepest regrets,  
Remus Lupin"  
  
"Oh, my goodness..." Sophie flopped down onto her bed, tears beginning to stream at her eyes. After all these years... Sirius was... dead...  
  
"Mommy," a little boy about 8 years old with red hair and freckles walked into the room and saw his mother sobbing into her pillows. "what's wrong?" the little boy asked.  
  
"Nothing." Sophie sniffed. "I'm fine. Run along and play."  
  
"Maggie, come here! Something's wrong with mommy!" the little boy chorused and his sister, a girl of about 12, also with freckles but with jet black hair, came running into the room.  
  
"Andrew! I told you I'm fine!" Sophie sniffed again.  
  
"Mommy what's wrong? What happened?" Maggie sat down on the bed and hugged her mother.  
  
"Just... a very good friend of mine was recently... murdered." On the word 'murdered' Sophie let out another long sob.  
  
"Well, daddy should be home in a few hours. You'll be able to talk to him about it." Maggie patted her mother's shoulder.  
  
"No! I mean... no I can't talk to him about it. You see, this friend of mine, was accused of something he never did... its hard to explain. Your father never liked him very much..." Sophie whispered.  
  
"Who's your friend." Andrew climbed into Sophie's lap.  
  
"His name..." Sophie started, "was Sirius Black."  
  
Both children gasped. "But wasn't he the one who killed that Pettigrew man?" asked Andrew.  
  
"And he escaped from Azkaban prison?" Maggie asked. Both children stared wide eyed at their mother.  
  
"No dears, he was an innocent man, accused of a crime he never committed. Let me tell you the story." Sophie thought back. Far back, to her first day at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. 


	2. The Train

Ch. 2 The Train  
  
As Sophie Carwin (as she was before she was married), her older brothers Steven, a fifth year, Joseph, a third year, and her mother and father stepped through the gate between platforms 9 and 10, she saw hundreds of students kissing their parents goodbye and the parents crying and nearly suffocating their kids in huge bear hugs. Her brothers made their way onto the train with their different groups of friends. Her mother looked at her and smiled tearfully, and gave her a peck on the cheek and her father gave her a pat on the back which almost knocked her over. She laughed and gave them both a hug. She was starting to get homesick and she hadn't even left the station yet. They said goodbye to her, and she ran on the train as its whistle blew and the last of the children clambered onto it.  
  
As soon as she had handed her ticket to the train master, the train jolted and started to move. She held onto her bags and walked down the narrow hallway that was the middle of the train, looking for an open compartment.  
  
The first compartment had a few girls in it, but they looked around 16 or so and Sophie didn't want to bother them. The second one was full with a group of laughing 4th years. The third one had a couple of boys in it, and by what they looked like, first years like her. She was getting tired and she decided that she would sit there, whether they liked it or not.  
  
She dragged her bags in plopped herself down onto the open seat. The jabbering that had filled the compartment stopped. 6 eyes turned her direction and stopped, an awkward silence overtaking the room. After a few moments, she spoke.  
  
"Hi, I'm Sophie. Sophie Carwin." She smiled, hoping they would return theirs, but they didn't. All eyes were still on her, in utter complete silence.  
  
She looked at all the boys. There was one with messy jet black hair and glasses, a boy with whitish-blonde hair who was remarkably skinny, and a boy with greasy looking brown hair that covered his face who was wearing brand new robes.  
  
After another awkward silence, the boy that she was sitting next to spoke. "I'm Potter. James Potter." He messed his hair up some more, and smirked at her. The other boys took after his example and offered their names, too.  
  
"Hello, my name is Remus Lupin." He gave her a faint, unconvincing smile. He turned away from her, and began reading a page from the Daily Prophet.  
  
The last boy sniffed. "Sirius Black." The boy with the longish hair eyed her over. She looked at him, and their eyes locked for a brief moment. Then he said "Why are you sitting here?" He sniffed again.  
  
Sophie kind of surprised by the question answered, "No more open compartments." Which of course, was a lie, she thought. There probably were more open compartments, but she was just too lazy to go looking. Oh well, they didn't seem to know the difference.  
  
Sophie made a mental note to herself to learn these boys names some day. She had difficulty remembering them now. Until then, she'd just have to make up nicknames for them, in her mind. "Hm..." she thought, "That one I'll call Messy Hair, that one I'll call Skinny, and that one I'll call... Snuffles."  
  
"What houses do you think you'll be in?" she asked the boys.  
  
The Snuffles snorted. "I'll probably be in Slytherin. My whole family's been in it. Its kind of like a tradition. But I'm doing everything I can to break that tradition."  
  
Sophie had heard bad things from her parents about kids who went to Slytherin. Her brothers had told her stories about Slytherins hexing kids in the corridors between classes. Her thoughts were interrupted when Messy Hair started talking.  
  
"Well, I think I'll be in Gryffindor cause I'm just SUCH a noble soul!" he sighed and messed his hair up once more.  
  
"I think arrogant soul is more like it!" Sophie thought.  
  
"I'll hope I'm not in Hufflepuff! I heard that's where all of the stupid people go!" Skinny said frightfully.  
  
By then Madame Shamble, the woman with the food cart had stopped by.  
  
"Would you like anything off the trolley dears?" she asked.  
  
"Sure! I'll have a bag of bertie botts every flavor beans, 3 chocolate frogs, and 5 packs of droobles best blowing gum." Sophie payed the woman and shoved all but a chocolate frog in her purse.  
  
"I'll have 3 bags of every flavor beans, and 5 chocolate frogs." Messy Hair said.  
  
"I'll have 87 chocolate frogs!" Skinny shouted at her and threw his money onto the trolley.  
  
The trolley woman looked astonished, but she gave him as many chocolate frogs as she had and he gave her a handful of silver coins.  
  
After she left, Snuffles spoke up. "Why so many packs of gum?" He asked Sophie.  
  
"You can never have enough gum. And besides, I didn't get nearly as much gum as Skin --- I mean him over there got chocolate frogs!" Sophie pointed at Remus.  
  
"Yah, why did you get so many of those?" Messy Hair asked him.  
  
"I... uh..." Remus started to break into a sweat. "I'm... collecting the cards... yah that's it! I'm looking for a new one."  
  
"Riiiiight..." Sirius said to him.  
  
A boy with very long, greasy jet black hair was sitting in the compartment across from them. James noticed him and beckoned him to come over to their room.  
  
"Hey boy, what's your name?" he asked smirking at him.  
  
"My... my name is Severus Snape." He told him  
  
"Well SNIVELUS, oh you don't mind if I call you that, do you?"  
  
"Well I--- " the boy started  
  
"Good, good. Now what kind of a family do you come from? I mean, your robes are almost unwearable, and your hair... when was the last time you washed it? Its horrible!"  
  
The boy looked close to tears. James kept laughing and talking and smirking.  
  
"And you smell horrible! Did you sleep in a gutter last night? Does your family even feed you? Do you even HAVE a family?!?" He laughed harder. The other boys joined in with a chorus of mean things.  
  
Sophie couldn't believe her ears. These boys hadn't even talked to this poor boy for a minute, yet they were making fun of him as if they had know him their whole lives. They were being so horrible to him, but she didn't speak up. But someone else did.  
  
"Hey, you there! Leave him alone! He hasn't done anything to you!" A girl pushed the boy out of the way, and braced herself in the doorway between the hall, and Sophie's compartment.  
  
"Prissy, what's your name?" Messy Hair smirked largely at her.  
  
"Lily Evans. And I'm NOT interested in knowing yours." She scowled at him.  
  
"Well that's just too bad now isn't it. The name is James Potter." He pretended to pollish his finger nails on his robes.  
  
"Well Potter, you should leave innocent people alone! Pick on someone who's actually done something to you!"  
  
The girl looked at Sophie. "Who's this? Your sister? I hope she's not as horrible as you are."  
  
James looked at Sophie. "Nope, she's not my sister. She's my girlfriend. Her name is Sophie." Before Sophie had known it, he had put his arm around her and pulled her towards him so she was leaning on his shoulder.  
  
She jumped off the seat and yelled "I am NOT your girlfriend you arrogant little cockroach!"  
  
Lily looked impressed at her valiancy. James looked both mortified and confused. Sophie guessed he wasn't used to having anyone stand up for their rights, or being rejected by a girl.  
  
Lily put her arm around Sophie's shoulder. "Come on, you don't want to stay here with these gits do you?" she asked her.  
  
Sophie glared at James. "What a conceited little bugger." She thought to herself. "No, I don't." she picked up her bags and Lily helped her carry them to her compartment.  
  
Lily introduced her to all of her friends. They seemed very nice. Much nicer than the boys had been to her. She felt more welcome with the girls. At least these people didn't ask her strange questions or give her strange looks like the boys had. Then Sophie realized that she had forgotten her owl in the boys compartment.  
  
"Oh no, I forgot my owl, Chevy in the other compartment! I'll be right back."  
  
She ran to the other compartment and opened the door to see her owl right where she had left it.  
  
She reached up to grab it, and James poked her in the side. She looked down and he mouthed the words "she's a git." But Sophie ignored it. She started down the hall but hadn't gotten very far when she heard a sniff and "girls." She pictured Snuffles rolling his eyes at her and she laughed. "What a lot they are." She thought to herself. 


	3. The Sorting

The Sorting  
  
A couple of hours later, the sky grew dark and the quarter moon came out of its cloud blanket. Slowly the train came to a halt and the airy whistle blew. The girls got their robes on, and made their way off the train.  
  
"First years follow me! Well hullo thar! I'm Hagrid! First years follow me!" Sophie heard a deep grumbling voice, and she looked up to see a largely built man with an almost equally large beard, holding a lantern. He was beckoning the first years onto horseless carriages. Lily and the girls whom she had introduced Sophie to, a girl with flaming red hair named Molly, and another girl who was Asian, named Tara, got into one of the carriages. It took off at flying speed and about twenty minutes later, they were at the edge of a huge lake.  
  
"Have you ever seen anything so big?" A boy with mousy white hair named Peter said to no one in particular.  
  
"Yah, its called the ocean." Another boy with long blonde hair spat. The first boy blushed.  
  
Sophie was separated from the girls when Hagrid divided up the first years and put them into boats. Sophie was in the last group and was once again left with the boys who's names she couldn't remember. She sighed. This was going to be a long year if she was going to be stuck with them.  
  
"Girl, I can't believe you made friends with that... Evans girl!" Messy hair shouted at Sophie once they had started off into the water.  
  
"At least she's not arrogant." She said coolly. Messy hair scowled at her. No one talked for the rest of the boat ride. They were too busy gawking at the castle to talk even if they had liked each other.  
  
They got off of the boat and were ushered into a large high ceilinged room. A woman with dirty blonde-ish hair wearing emerald green robes came out from what seemed no where and greeted them.  
  
"My name is Professor McGonagall. I am the head of Gryffindor house. The sorting ceremony will begin momentarily."  
  
There was some hushed whispering and the woman disappeared. Minutes later two heavy doors opened to reveal a hall full of people. The first years walked along the red center carpet up to a podium which held a patched hat.  
  
"When I call your name, you will come up here and sit on this stool, and the sorting hat will put you into a house. Quite simple really, your house will be your family while you are here at Hogwarts." McGonagall spoke again. She began to read a list of names.  
  
"Sirius Black."  
  
"So Snuffles' real name was Sirius Black. I can remember that easily!" Sophie thought to herself.  
  
McGonagall put the hat on Sirius' head and it spoke. "Hm... another Black I see... but your different... very different. I know where to put you. GRYFFINDOR!"  
  
The Gryffindor table erupted in clapping and Sirius, beaming, went over and sat down."  
  
"Michael Avery." McGonagall said and she put the hat on him.  
  
Before the hat even touched his head, it yelled "SLYTHERIN!" and the Slytherins clapped and hollered.  
  
The sorting continued.  
  
"James Potter."  
  
"James Potter." Sophie made a mental note.  
  
The sorting hat laughed. "Oh I have the feeling I'll be seeing you in Dumbledore's office a lot. A keen mind, yet daring. GRYFFINDOR!"  
  
"Remus Lupin."  
  
"Remus Lupin." Sophie memorized.  
  
Another Gryffindor.  
  
"Peter Pettigrew."  
  
It was the mousy haired boy who had been teased by the blonde boy (who had gotten put into Slytherin no to Sophie's surprise).  
  
"Well you're a different one... where should I put you... why not. GRYFFINDOR."  
  
A weaker applause set in for Peter.  
  
"Sophie Carwin." McGonagall announced.  
  
Sophie, surprised to hear her name, made her way through the students. It felt like she had swallowed a butterfly. She sat down on the stool and the hat spoke to her.  
  
"What an interesting little girl. Talented, noble, definite qualities for this house. GRYFFINDOR!"  
  
The Gryffindors whistled and clapped and glad not to have gone to Slytherin, Sophie went and sat between James and Sirius and across from her brothers. Had they been saving her a seat between them? Oh, well.  
  
"Congratulations mate! Gryffindor!" James held his hand up to her, and she high-fived it, too happy to care who he was or what she was doing.  
  
After what seemed like forever, the sorting was over. Dumbledore gave a speech and every table filled with all sorts of food. The students eagerly dug in to their first meal at Hogwarts.  
  
There were potatoes, and chicken and pumpkin juice and more things that they could have imagined.  
  
They students ate until they were fit to burst and after they stuffed their faces, they followed the prefects up to their common rooms. The Gryffindor common was strung with banners of scarlet and gold with pictures of lions all around. The students "ooo"-ed and "ahh"-ed over it. Most of the students went to bed, but Sophie, James, Sirius, the mousy haired boy named Peterand Remus stayed downstairs in the common room.  
  
During dinner, Sophie, James, Sirius and Remus had talked and Peter had basically, joined in whenever he thought fit to answer. Sophie was beginning to be able to look over James' constant arrogance, and see the other sweeter side of him. She could fee the same thing with Sirius. She noted that the looks of curiosity were gone from their faces, but Remus was still a little shy with her, but he was that way with all of them.  
  
They stayed down in the common room until 11 talking about their families and their past and how glad they were to be in Gryffindor.  
  
"I'm a pure blood, but I'm not a muggle hater. How about you?" Sophie asked Sirius as she pushed her straight brown hair behind her ears.  
  
"Same here. I'm a pure blood and I don't hate muggles, but my family hates anyone that isn't a pure blood. I kind of broke the Black tradition of being in Slytherin. Can't say I'm that sorry bout it though." He chuckled and sniffed.  
  
A grandfather clock on the wall chimed eleven. Remus yawned.  
  
"Well we better be off to bed then shan't we? Want to get up bright and early for tomorrow's classes!" he stated.  
  
"Right then, good night!" Sophie waved goodbye and clambered up the stairs to her room. Lily, Tara and Molly were already fast asleep. She plopped onto the bed which she had chosen, the closest to the window, and got inside, clothes and all. She was far too tired to put her pajamas on. She stared out the window into the forbidden forest. The moon was high, and she could see the stars surrounding it. She made a wish on each one until she fell fast asleep. 


	4. Classes and Detention

Classes and Detention  
  
The next morning, Sophie was woken up by Lily shaking her shoulders.  
  
"Breakfast!" she shouted in her ear.  
  
"You sure are perky at 6 in the morning." Sophie told her.  
  
The girls got dressed and skipped down to the common room and out of the door to the great hall. They got lost a few times on their way, but managed to make it to the hall by 6:45. James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter were already there. Lily made it an obvious point to sit at the other end of the table, far from James, but Sophie sat across from him.  
  
"Mmmm bacon." James said and offered Sophie some. She took some and passed it down the line of students.  
  
"This hall sure is pretty. And I love the ceiling! It makes you feel as if your eating a picnic outside!" Sophie said and she looked up to see a sun, clouds and even birds flying overhead.  
  
The five students looked at their schedule's for the day, and noted that they all had Potions with Slytherin first.  
  
"Great. That's just how I want to spend my morning. With Narcissa in a dungeon. Fantastic." Sirius moaned and set his goblet down with a thud.  
  
"Then we have Herbology with Hufflepuff, and then Transfiguration with just Gryffindors." Sophie kept reading. "And lastly, we have broomstick practice! YES! I used to ride my brother's broomstick's around the backyard when they weren't home. I love quidditch!"  
  
"James loves quidditch too, don't you James." Sirius answered.  
  
"Mmmhhmmm." James mumbled as he chewed a pancake. When he swallowed, he said "Some day I'm going to be a professional quidditch player." He grinned widely.  
  
"I'm going to try out for the Gryffindor quidditch team next year." Sophie announced.  
  
They went to Potions class and met their teacher, Professor Threeply. He was a tall gangly looking man with slicked back blonde hair and dark eyes that sunk into his head. He glared at the students and steepled his fingers.  
  
"Well well well. What an interesting class this is going to be." Threeply sneered and Sophie felt a chill go up her spine.  
  
Sirius scribbled something down on a piece of paper, and handed it to Sophie. She looked at it. It had a chicken scratch drawing of Professor Threeply with a big mole on his face and it big letters it said "Threeply is an stupid, ugly git! –Sirius." Evidently, Threeply saw Sirius pass it to her and before she knew it, he was standing right in front of her holding his hand out.  
  
"Miss Carwin, what have you got in that hand of yours?" he asked her, sneering again.  
  
"Er... nothing Professor!" she screeched and she made to rip it up, but he snatched it from her and looked at it. She saw by the look on his face that he wasn't pleased with Sirius' interpretation of him.  
  
"Love notes from your boyfriend?" he forced a laugh. Sophie was getting annoyed by his sneering. Her blood boiled.  
  
"First of all, he's NOT my boyfriend, and second, maybe if you didn't sneer at people so much, they might actually like you!" She knew the minute after she said it, it had been a mistake.  
  
His crooked smile faded. "Detention. Black. Carwin. 8pm sharp." He turned at his robes swished behind him.  
  
Sophie looked over at Sirius who was blushing. James was glaring at him. They had been planning on setting up a practical joke to play on Sirius' cousin, but now that Sirius had detention, they couldn't. He looked at Sophie, who was also glaring at him. Narcissa giggled over in her corner with her friends. Sophie loathed them.  
  
"Our first class on our first day and you had to go and get us detention! I don't believe you!" Sophie exploded after class. Threeply had given them extra homework too.  
  
Sirius glared at her. "I'm sorry! I shouldn't have passed you the note in the first place... at least not on the first day. I should have waited a week." He smirked. Sophie rolled her eyes.  
  
Herbology flew by in a midst of blurring color. The class its self was pretty boring, but when Peter accidentally knocked over a table of baby mandrakes, half the classes passed out, and Peter had to go to the hospital wing because one had bitten him on his nose.  
  
After coming to, the students went to Transfiguration. McGonagall was nice enough, but she was strict and wise in that old fashioned kind of way that if you mess up once, ok. If you do it again, your screwed.  
  
They started out with something "easy" as McGonagall said. They tried to turn eggs into chicks. James turned his into a rock, Sirius turned his into a rabbit, Sophie turned hers into a duckling which was as close to a chick as anyone got except for Remus who turned his into the perfect little chick, and Peter who misshapedly turned his hand into a cactus.  
  
"However did that bloke get into Gryffindor?" Sirius asked James.  
  
"Dunno, but how did Snivillus get into Hogwarts?" they both laughed.  
  
Their last class that day was broomstick practice. Madame Fletcher showed them how to perch themselves on their broomsticks and fly a few feet off the ground. James began to show off by flying higher and higher. But Sophie, having learned to ride by the time she was 8 took off and followed James to the top of the trees, where they both tried to Wronski Feignt each other. Madame Fletcher gave them both full marks, 20 house points, and a standing ovation.  
  
By the time they got back to the common room after dinner, it was already 7:30pm.  
  
"We'd better get going to Threeply's." Sirius said.  
  
"Yah, guess so." Sophie agreed.  
  
They made their way to the dungeons when they heard whispers.  
  
"The school will never know what hit it! It'll be impossible to know who did it!" Sophie and James looked at each other and then tiptoed over behind a wall where they could see who was talking.  
  
"Its that blonde boy!" Sirius whispered in her ear.  
  
"And we'll get what we want, or my name isn't Lucious Malfoy!" the blonde boy stated. His two cronies laughed deeply.  
  
"Wonder what he's up to..." Sirius thought outloud.  
  
Sophie looked at her watch. It was 8:04. "Well we can't find out now, we're already late!"  
  
They sprinted into Threeply's classroom, and over to his desk, breathing heavily from running so fast to get there. Sophie looked at the clock. It was 8:00.  
  
"You're late." Threeply announced, sneering once more.  
  
"Someday. I'm going to give you such a smack that you'll wake up in the lake." Sophie thought.  
  
"I was only going to make you stay for an hour, but I think I'll have you stay until 10:00pm now." He laughed to himself.  
  
Sirius groaned. Neither of them had been able to start any of their homework yet.  
  
"Oh, in that case, I'll make it 11:00pm" there went the sneer again.  
  
Sirius look livid, but he didn't dare say anything more. Threeply made them scour cauldrons without magic for 3 hours. By the time they got back up to Gryffindor common room, they were practically dead.  
  
"If you do the transfiguration and defense against the dark arts homework, I'll do the charms and potions and then we can copy each other, alright?" Sirius asked her flopping down into an easy chair.  
  
Normally, Sophie didn't enjoy cheating, but this was a rare occasion and she gleefully accepted his offer.  
  
Around one o'clock, Sophie finished the essays they she had had to write. Sirius was still madly working so she decided to wait for him to finish and rest her eyes instead of leaving him and going to bed. She rolled over on the couch and put her head down on one of the soft pillows.  
  
She had a dream that she was on her broomstick flying around a huge brick red, fire breathing dragon. She wove in and out of its fiery blasts. The crowds were yelling her name. "Carwin, Carwin, Carwin!" they chanted louder and louder. Suddenly, the broom jolted and she flew forwards and off the broom. She was falling, falling, and screaming. She was going to hit the ground. Closer, closer. Right before she hit, she woke up in a cold sweat.  
  
She was back on her couch and someone had laid a blanket on top of her. She sat up and looked around. Sirius was sprawled eagled and out cold in the middle of the floor, drooling profusely. Sophie giggled at the sight of it. She looked out of the window and the sky was still dark. Her watch read 5:37am. She'd gotten so little sleep, but she would have to get up soon anyways, so she went up to her room and changed into some new clothes. She went back down into the common room and curled up with Quidditch Through the Ages.  
  
At 6:15am, the students of Gryffindor stared awakening and Sophie threw a pillow at Sirius to wake him up. 


	5. A Little White Lie

A Little White Lie  
  
The day went by in sort of a blur. Sirius and Sophie were so tired that they could barely function. During defense against the dark arts, Professor Nettle had to throw an ice cube at Sirius to wake him up after he had drifted off to sleep on Molly Prewitt's shoulder.  
  
Needless to say, Sirius and Sophie weren't the only ones dozing classes. Neither Sirius nor Sophie knew why, but Remus somehow scarred and bandaged had fallen asleep and off of his chair in transfiguration and had to be to the hospital wing.  
  
"Remus, are you alright? How'd you get those cuts and where were you last night? I knew Sirius had detention but where were you? You didn't get detention in something did you? I mean, you're, well, you're... perfect!" James asked Remus at dinner that night.  
  
"Perfect. That's the last thing I'll ever be." Is what Remus wanted to say, but he really said, "Um... yeah I did get it. Peeves set me up by dropping a dungbomb near Filch's office where I happened to be walking by. Filch gave it to me alright..." Remus lied. He looked at his bruised and gashed hands. He wanted to tell them. He wanted to tell James and Sophie and Sirius and Peter. He wanted to tell them that he was... a werewolf. But he couldn't... he wouldn't... they wouldn't understand... no one understood. 


	6. Halloween and a Secret

Halloween and a Secret  
  
By Halloween, most of the first years had basically gotten the hang of Hogwarts. During the Halloween feast, Remus began to feel ill. Tonight he would transform into that hideous beast again. He didn't want to. He felt like he was going to throw up. He wanted to cry. He looked at his friends. James was blowing pumpkin juice out of his nose and Sophie was laughing at him. Sirius was trying to force the idea into Peter's head, that if you cast 'expelliarmus' on a rat, its tail will come off. Not that either of them believed it.  
  
"They will never know... they will never know how it is and if they ever found out about me... they'd hate me." Remus thought.  
  
"What did you do back at him for Halloween?" Sophie asked them all.  
  
James was first to answer her. "Well, we used to play this muggle game... I believe it was called 'trick or treat'. Something like that"  
  
Our family used to have a party where they hunted down muggles to scare." Sirius scowled. "I never participated."  
  
"Every Halloween I would pass out candy to the little children on my block." Peter told her, but none of them seemed to be listening.  
  
Everybody was staring at Remus now. He stuttered and then said, "I would just stay in my room." They were giving him strange looks now. Did they suspect something? He began to worry.  
  
After they finished eating, the Gryffindors went back up to the common room, but Remus held back. He decided to eat his pudding very slow.  
  
"Well we'll wait for you then, mate." James said to him and the four of them sat back down at the table again.  
  
"NO! I mean, that's ok. You don't need to wait. I don't think I'll be going right up to the common room right away anyways." Remus began to feel feverish.  
  
"Why not?" Sirius provoked him, smirking. Sophie could see that Remus was beginning to feel uncomfortable. Though she didn't know why, she felt that the boys were beginning to invade his space. She nudged Sirius in the ribs with her elbow and he understood.  
  
They got up and left the hall. As the door shut behind them, Sophie and James started towards the stairs when Sirius pulled them back by their robes.  
  
"Don't you wanna know what he's up to?" he said with a grin.  
"Oh Sirius, can't you leave the poor boy alone?" Sophie asked him.  
  
"Psh! No! We're his friends therefore, we should have the 'in' on all of his business!"  
  
"You're horrible, the pair of you. You know that? No wonder Lily hates you!" Sophie rolled her eyes and James blushed and winced at her name.  
  
They hid behind one of the stone owls outside of the hall until Remus came out. He looked around to make sure that no one was there, and then he sprinted down the corridor.  
  
"C'mon! Lets follow him!" Sirius said and they hightailed it after him.  
  
Remus knew the way to go. He had done this twice before at Hogwarts. All he had to do was get out to the whomping willow and Dumbledore would be waiting there to lead him down to his cell, his prison, the shrieking shack.  
  
"By the way, whee did Peter go?" James asked.  
  
"Oh I totally forgot about him. Big lug... oh well. We'll worry about him later." Sirius responded.  
  
There he was, Dumbledore stood solemnly at the side of the school.  
  
"Oh my gosh..." Sophie gasped. A door opened under a branch on the tree and Remus stepped inside of it along side Dumbledore. Dumbledore had absentmindedly left the door open.  
  
"Hey, follow him!" Sirius pointed and they ran in. They tiptoed down a long corridor for what felt like hours, until they had reached a statue of a witch, a staircase, and at the top of the staircase, a door.  
  
They heard Dumbledore speak. "I shall have to leave you now. I will be back in the morning. You should be changing again momentarily. Goodnight young Remus." They heard footsteps coming towards them and Sophie whispered, "Quick! Hide here!" She pulled the boys behind the stone statue.  
  
Dumbledore walked briskly down the stairs and back down the tunnel.  
  
"Come on!" James beckoned them to follow him up the stairs. He opened the door slowly and he, Sophie and Sirius stepped into the darkened room. There was a blockaded window, in the corner was a fireplace, and in the center of the room was a very large bed. But there was no Remus.  
  
"Huh, where could he have gone? We saw him come in here!" Sirius asked and he kicked a rock across the floor. Suddenly they heard a growl, and a gigantic gray dog jumped out from behind the bed. It was bleeding badly from its face and legs.  
  
"Oh, my god! Its--- it's a werewolf!" Sophie screamed and let out a little screech of terror.  
  
"Don't make any sudden movements. I can handle this." Sirius slowly made for the door. His shaking hand met the handle. He twisted and pulled. Nothing happened and he froze.  
  
"James. Did you lock the door." His voice suddenly not as boyish as usual.  
  
"Um..." James choked. "Not purposely."  
  
Sirius' heart beat 100 miles an hour.  
  
"We're going to die!" James panicked.  
  
"Shut up. No we're not." Sophie said. "But... anyone got any ideas?..."  
  
The werewolf was coming ever closer. Remus could smell fresh blood. Three humans full of fresh blood. He wanted it. He would get it.  
  
"I have an idea. James, hand me your wand." He did so without question and Sirius turned to Sophie. "If I don't make it out of here, I want you to tell my cousin what a horribly ugly git she is. Sophie nodded and Sirius continued. I'm going to break the door down with a spell and I need you two to run out and push it back up from the other side and hold it closed. Don't open it back up until I say its alright, ok?"  
  
"But, you'll be stuck inside here with... this!" Sophie pointed to the wherewolf.  
  
"I know. Just do it!" We're running out of time. On my mark. Three." Sirius gulped. "Two." His heart pounded. "One" He was going to be sick. "GO!" He blasted the door down and his friends leaped out of the room. The door slammed back up. Now it was just him and Remus. "Mate, I know you're in there somewhere. But I'm doing this for your own good as well as for mine." Sirius embraced James' wand. Remus pounced. "Stupendo!" Sirius eyes shut and he heard a thud against solid ground. He opened his eyes and Remus/Dog was lying on the ground unconscious.  
  
He knocked on the door for James and Sophie to open it and they did. James magically locked the door closed again and they ran at full speed back to the Gryffindor common room, wanting to get as far away from the beast as was all possible. But they knew it was hopeless, for tomorrow, it would be sitting in all of their classes, eating at all of their meals, and sleeping in the same room as them.  
  
"I don't care if he nearly killed us, he's still my friend." Sophie exclaimed to the boys once they were back in the common room.  
  
"How can you say that when 20 minutes ago he was about to rip your head off?" Sirius asked her.  
  
"I don't see what it is with you girls! You're always so... so... so... forgiving!" James spat out.  
  
"Well next time you two mess up, remind me not to forgive you." Sophie shot back in a huff.  
  
The boys looked at each other a bit frightened at that point.  
  
"Well, I for one am going to bed. Goodnight!" Sophie trotted up the stairs to the girl's dormitory and the boys stayed down in the common room trying to discuss what they should do about Remus. In the end, they decided that they would at least be decent to the poor boy, after all, it wasn't his fault that he was a werewolf. At 2:00am the two of them went to bed. When Sirius got to bed, he realized there was something lumpy on his pillow. He sat up and looked at it. It was a note. He un-rolled the parchment and read it.  
  
"Thanks for saving us back there. Wouldn't still be here if it weren't for you... course, it was your fault we were there in the first place. But even so, thanks. –Sophie."  
  
Sirius could have sworn there was a slight hint of perfume on the parchment. Or could he have just imagined it. His stomach began to feel all knotty. He looked over at James' bed. He was already asleep after only 3 minutes of being in bed. No use in waking him up, though, he wanted to. Sirius lay down and smiled. He wondered what Sophie was thinking about and he fell asleep. 


	7. Awkward

Awkward?  
  
The next morning was awkward as an understatement. At breakfast Remus didn't eat anything and he was as pale as ever. He knew what he had almost done the night before, and he was ready to face up to it. After breakfast, he pulled Sophie into a corner and began whispering to her in a panicked tone.  
  
"Sophie please don't tell anyone about my... condition. I'm sorry I almost killed you all, but I couldn't help it! So please don't tell anyone and I'll understand if you hate me and never want to be seen near me again or if you're afraid of me or something." He said in one breath.  
  
"Hold on, hold on," Sophie started. "I don't hate you, and I'm definitely NOT afraid of you!" She smiled at him. "And I promise with all of my heart that I won't tell anybody about you or what happened last night. If someone knew, well, you could get expelled from Hogwarts! Then who would help me with my homework?" She laughed.  
  
"But what about James and Sirius? They're sure to tell someone!" Remus whimpered.  
  
"Remus, calm down. I swear they won't tell anyone anything. I can trust them, and you should be able to, too." She said soothingly.  
  
Remus breathed a deep sigh, then thanked Sophie again and rushed to his next class. 


	8. Christmas Holidays

Christmas Holidays  
  
Sophie shivered. The time had passed quickly between Halloween and Christmas. It was December 21'st and Sirius, James, Sophie, and Peter were all getting packed to go back home for the holidays.  
  
Remus however was staying at Hogwarts for... other purposes.  
  
"Happy Christmas Remus!" the four of them wished him as they hauled their trunks out of the great hall and towards the door. "Be sure to write us a bit of mail!"  
  
"This Christmas is going to suck big time." Sirius grumbled. "On Christmas Eve we're going to my cousin's house and since I'm in Gryffindor, I know they'll all shun me out of everything, though it shouldn't be much different than past Christmases! Only a bit more hate towards me instead of neglect." Sirius snorted.  
  
"Well if you like I could come visit you over break! I could meet your family! Oh I know you say they're bad but how awful could they be?" Sophie chimed in.  
  
Sirius gave her an apprehensive look, but then nodded. "That'd be nice, to see someone other than my so called family. But I just hope that you don't want to run away the second you get there."  
  
Sophie laughed at this, but she wasn't sure if he was joking or not.  
  
A few days later, The bright shining sun blazed through Sophie's window. She slowly opened her eyes. There were presents everywhere! They covered the floor and climbed up the walls.  
  
Three owls were perched on her dresser, all holding oddly shaped packages. There was a scruffy black owl, a well groomed brown owl, and a tiny gray owl. She recognized them as Sirius', James', and Remus' owls.  
  
She ripped open the first owls' package. A bag of fizzing whizbees and the book A Quidditch Professional's Guide fell out. A note floated out of the bottom of the package. It read, "Now you don't need to be scolded by Madame Pince if you 'turn a page too fast'-Sirius"  
  
Sophie laughed at this remark and recalled the many times she had been reprimanded for 'mishandling the library's books' last term. She ripped open the next package from James. It contained 3 cd's by the Macbeths which happened to be one of Sophie's favorite bands.  
  
The last package was from Remus. It was large and long. She tore it open and gasped. It was a brand new broom. A card inside the package said, "Had it lying around. Thought you might like it. By the way... thanks again for not saying anything to anyone about my... you know. Tell your brothers you don't have to steal theirs now! See you at school. –Remus" Sophie threw her cloak on over her pajamas and took her new broom out for a spin around her yard as her brothers gawked from their windows. 


	9. The House of Black

The House of Black  
  
"Sirius, I'll be coming to your house day after tomorrow. Only staying for the weekend. Hogwarts next week anyways. See you then! Anything I should know about your family beforehand? –Sophie." Sirius read.  
  
He scribbled down a few words onto a piece of parchment fore his cousin Narcissa bursted into the room.  
  
"When are YOU coming to dinner?" she stuck her nose in the air and scowled.  
  
"When I feel like it, now get out!" He got up and slammed the door in her face. He finished writing and sent his owl.  
  
"Sophie, there's too much that you need to know and to put it all into one letter would take weeks. Just remember, I warned you. They're Black's and not the friendliest of sorts. See you soon. –Sirius."  
  
Two days later, Sophie stepped out of the ashes of the Black's floo.  
  
"Who in the bloody hell of England are you?" said a tall plump woman with a large nose and long pitch black hair.  
  
"I... I..." Sophie stammered. Had Sirius forgotten to tell his mother that he was having company?  
  
"Well then, out with it girl!" the woman shouted.  
  
"Mum," Sirius rushed in, "this is my friend Sophie." Sophie smiled but the lady did not in return.  
  
"Are you a pure blood?" His mother asked. From behind his mother Sirius was nodding vigorously at Sophie.  
  
"YES! I mean, yes of course I am." Sophie faked a grin.  
  
"Oh, well, yes, of course then, come in." the woman still didn't smile but she beckoned Sophie in for a cup of tea. Sirius whispered to her, "Don't drink the tea. The house elf makes it. Don't ask. You'll find out later just believe me. Do not drink that tea."  
  
Sophie pretended to drink the tea while Sirius' mother prepared dinner. When Mrs. Black wasn't looking, Sophie dumped her cup of tea in the bottom of a potted plant and said, "Well then, I'm finished. Better go find Sirius!" and she ran out of the room.  
  
Sirius showed Sophie the house but as she noticed, there really wasn't very much to see. There were hundreds of paintings of mean looking wizards and witches and a tapestry that took up a whole wall.  
  
At dinner time, Sirius didn't go down to eat and Sophie stayed with him, not wanting to be alone with his eerie family members.  
  
"Isn't it kind of rude if I don't go down to eat with your family?" Sophie asked.  
  
"Oh believe me, they'll get over it. Honestly, they probably don't even remember you're here." Sirius smirked but Sophie frowned. "Oh, but don't be offended! Its all for the better! Trust me!" Sirius ordered Chinese take out by owl and they ate it up in his room. The food seemed to cheer Sophie up a bit more.  
  
"Wow I never knew you could get take out by owl!" Sophie laughed and a few hours later they were both ready to go to bed. Sirius showed Sophie to her room.  
  
"The only remotely nice room in the house, which of course, no one wants." He snorted and bade her goodnight. "Oh, and by the way, make sure you lock your door."  
  
"Why?" asked Sophie.  
  
"Believe me. Just do it." And he left.  
  
Sophie put on her pajamas, brushed her teeth and said goodnight to the witch in the picture above her bed, who said goodnight to her in return.  
  
She got under the covers and went to sleep, but right before she closed her eyes, she couldn't help but think she forgot something. 


	10. A Rude Awakening

A Rude Awakening  
  
The clock in Sophie's room struck 2:00am. Suddenly, Sophie heard something around her that made her jump awake.  
  
"Nasty little Gryffindor girl. Barging into Madame's house." Sophie sat bolt upright and looked straight into the dark where two large yellow eyes were staring at her and she screamed. Ten seconds later, Sirius was in her room and he flipped the lights on. Kreacher, the Black's house elf was standing at the foot of the bed holding a picture frame that had come from somewhere. When he saw Sirius, he tried to shove it under his tea cozy shirt, but it was way too large.  
  
"OUT!" Sirius shouted at it. The house elf scurried out of the room with a quiet, "Nasty little Gryffindor boy." Sophie remained huddled on her bed. "This house is demented!" Sophie yelled.  
  
"I warned you to lock your door!" Sirius shouted at her.  
  
"I'm sorry I forgot!" She stared right into Sirius' eyes.  
  
"That was the reason. Kreacher likes to wander into people's rooms. Not pleasant. Really, its not." He stated. They sighed, and went back to bed.  
  
The next day was just as bad as the one before, yet it felt better to the both of them for some reason.  
  
The following Monday they all took the Hogwarts Express back to the school. Sophie was glad to be back, even if it did mean homework again. 


End file.
